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Three Blasts Go Off Near German Soccer Team Bus, Injuring Player

The Borussia Dortmund soccer team bus was damaged by explosion a few miles from the stadium prior to the UEFA Champions League quarter-final football match against Monaco in Dortmund, Germany, on Tuesday.
Sascha Schuermann AFP/Getty Images
The Borussia Dortmund soccer team bus was damaged by explosion a few miles from the stadium prior to the UEFA Champions League quarter-final football match against Monaco in Dortmund, Germany, on Tuesday.

Updated at 5:30 p.m. ET

Three explosions went off near the bus of Germany's Borussia Dortmund soccer team on Tuesday evening in the city of Dortmund, local police say.

The team said on Twitter that one of its players, defender Marc Bartra, sustained injuries and is currently in the hospital. The type of injuries wasn't immediately clear.

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Initial reports suggest that the blasts were caused by "serious explosives," potentially hidden in a bush near a parking lot, Dortmund police said in a statement.

A letter was found near the site of the explosion, and examiners are looking into its authenticity, police say.

The team's "Champions League quarterfinal first leg game against Monaco was called off because of the explosions as the players were leaving their hotel for the match at 7 p.m. local time," according to The Associated Press.

Police said in a statement that the bus's windows were damaged.

"The match has been postponed until Wednesday," NPR's Lucian Kim reports from Berlin.

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The Dortmund police added there is no indication the people in the stadium were in danger. They later praised fans for their orderly departure from the stadium after the match was cancelled.

Police also launched a drone to gather evidence, Lucian adds.

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